Google+ for Brands: The Good, The Bad and the Muppets

Written by: Claire GoyatNovember 10, 2011

This week has been Google week. Google+ is open for business.

Whilst the service still remains a relative ghost town when compared to Facebook, it’s a key development nonetheless. Most interestingly, Google+ appears to be taking a different path to Social Networking communications.

Much of the system’s functionality benefits are focused on the way that a brand will want to talk with people and integrate with other (Google) online activity – both areas that Facebook struggles with. (The former because of its consumer heritage, the latter because Google will never let it play ball.) Hence Google+’s Circles, Hangouts, Direct Connect, promises of ‘+1’ aggregation across other Google services and a generally more synchronous approach to two way communications between brand and follower.

Here’s a quick run down of some of the more interesting reactions to the launch. We hope you find them illuminating.

* My C&M run down of G+ communications features: why the segmentation is helpful and the semantics is funny

* UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE Here’s what Time Magazine is doing with G+ to segment their audiences by interest areas – Topic Circles. WAY TO GO GUYS. (Thanks to @DannyWhatmough for the share.)

Finally, here’s a lovely little video from the Muppets. Clearly brand advocates when it comes to Google+ Hangouts : )

We hope you have fun with G+ – in time it will be important (watch out for Google’s search and Adwords aggregation/integration trump card). Meantime, sit tight, have a play, and – as many of these articles will tell you – don’t panic.